Donal Carey
Question:17 Mr. D. Carey asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress, if any, made by Ireland during its chairmanship of the Committee of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe. [4293/00]
Other Questions. - Council of Europe.
Ireland is halfway through the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which it assumed for a six month period in November 1999. The Committee of Ministers is the decision making body of the Council and the Government regards a successful term in office as a foreign policy priority. Deputy Andrews, as Minister for Foreign Affairs presented Ireland's Presidency priorities at the Council's ministerial session in Strasbourg on 4 November 1999 and these were laid before the Dáil. These included a number of specific areas in which we hoped to advance and develop the important work of the Council in building democracy, protecting human rights and strengthening the rule of law. Deputy Andrews reported on our progress made to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council during its January part-session. The text of his oral and written reports are available to Deputies in the Library.
The Deputy will be aware that the programme put forward by Ireland at the beginning of our chairmanship committed us to pursuing a number of current political questions, in particular, concerning south-east Europe and in the Caucasus.
The main political issue with which Ireland, as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, has had to deal is the ongoing crisis in Chechnya. As the House will be aware, Deputy Andrews, visited Moscow on 14 January and had discussions with the Russian Foreign Minister Mr. Ivanov. Through the Irish chairmanship, we are continuing to maintain close contact with the Russian authorities on this issue, and, complementing the OSCE, the Council is engaged in putting forward proposals to assist in the return of democracy, the enhancement of the principle of the rule of law and full respect for human rights in the region. Efforts are also under way in relation to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1444 of 25 January, which called upon the Committee of Ministers to, inter alia, take steps, in close co-operation with the Russian authorities, to ensure a Council of Europe presence in the region; and provide appropriate support to the Russian authorities for the implementation of peaceful policies in conformity with the norms and principles of the Council of Europe.
Additional information.
Another important issue facing Ireland during our term in office is that of the accession of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Council. As Deputies will be aware, Deputy Andrews, visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers in January with the Secretary General of the Council, Mr. Walter Schwimmer. During the course of that visit, discussions took place with the main Bosnian political institutions, as well as with senior representatives of the international community. A major element of the visit was an address to the joint Houses of the Bosnian Parliament.
Following the visit to Sarajevo, the delegation proceeded to Kosovo where discussions were held on the prospects for further developing the contribution of the Council of Europe to the efforts of the international community in securing peace and stability there. The Secretary General has brought forward a number of proposals in this regard, which are currently being considered by ambassadors in Strasbourg.
Deputy Andrews, also oversaw the admission of Mexico to the Council as an observer state on 1 December and met the Mexican Foreign Minister in Strasbourg, during the Parliamentary Assembly last month. Mexico becomes the fourth non-European state to attain observer status at the Council, along with Japan, Canada and the United States.
The Council of Europe, with 41 member states, is, along with the European Union and the OSCE, one of the pre-eminent multilateral institutions in Europe. Within such a framework, it is important that there exist inter-institutional cohesion and co-operation in order that each organisation is in a position to fully discharge those responsibilities that it bears within a pan-European framework. It was with this in mind that we set out in our Presidency programme the desire for closer co-operation between the various organisations. In this regard, a ministerial-level meeting between the Council of Europe, represented by the chairmanship and the Secretary General, and the EU, represented by Commissioner Patten and the Portuguese Presidency, is scheduled for 14 March. In addition, discussions are taking place with Austria, current chairman of the OSCE, regarding the date of the COE-OSCE ministerial-level meeting during our Presidency. This will fulfil our commitment that two such meetings should take place annually.
We have also achieved progress in our undertaking to develop relations between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council. The President of the Assembly visited Dublin on 24-26 November and held meetings with Deputy Andrews, and the Taoiseach and addressed the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs. The Irish Chair also addressed the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly in Paris on 16 December. The spring meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly will take place in Dublin Castle in May. I am grateful to you, a Cheann Comhairle, and to the members of the Irish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, in particular, the leader of the delegation, my colleague, Deputy Daly, for their initiative. Ireland's chairmanship has been greatly assisted by the efforts and support of the Oireachtas, many Members of which have participated in the work of the Council of Europe and, in particular, that of the Parliamentary Assembly.
Ireland's Presidency programme involved a series of commitments regarding other areas of the Council's activities, including our bilateral involvement. The budget for 2000 was successfully adopted under the Irish chairmanship on 10 December. Despite zero growth in resources, we were able to provide, through re-allocations and reductions, the necessary additional funding for priority areas: the Court of Human Rights; the new office of the Commissioner for Human Rights; the democratisation programmes and the Assembly's monitoring activities.
Bilateral efforts on Ireland's part include the following. First, the dissemination of information about the role of Ireland within the Council of Europe, through the distribution of an information booklet, "Ireland and the Council of Europe". Work is also well advanced on a book dealing with Ireland's early involvement with the Council, which is due for publication in the Spring. Second, Ireland's formal accession to the North-South Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity on 1 January 2000. Third, the successful European Conference on Social Development, hosted by my colleague, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, which took place in Dublin Castle on 17 and 18 January. Work has since begun on a political communication from the Council of Europe addressed to the UN Special Session on Social Development in June 2000. Fourth, the staging of an international human rights conference in Dublin on 3 and 4 March.
On the razing of Grozny and the situation in Chechnya, what success has there been on the part of the Irish chairmanship of the Council of Ministers to bring about a peaceful solution to the problem there? Have any efforts been made during our chairmanship – half way through his chairmanship and our campaign for a UN Security Council seat was a dreadful time to shuffle our Minister for Foreign Affairs – to reform and restructure the Council of Europe to make it more effective, efficient and relate more to the issues Europe faces?
I am not aware of any further progress made in regard to Chechnya but clearly the former Minister for Foreign Affairs made a significant effort in Moscow in January. The role of the European Council is largely post-conflict and, therefore, it does not have a specific role in the ongoing Chechen situation.
Have there been any reforms?
I am afraid I am not in a position to give a detailed reply to that question but we will respond further to the Deputy.
The former Minister for Foreign Affairs did his best to represent the Irish and the Council of Europe's view on the Chechen conflict. Does the Minister agree it highlights a serious deficiency in relation to the Council of Europe's initiatives as the basic source of the human rights charters? People asked how come the human rights issues raised in respect of Grozny and Chechnya did not seem to matter as much as the rights raised in Kosovo and elsewhere. People on the American continent asked the same question about Colombia, for example. Did we not leave ourselves open to being participants in an effort which implied that some human rights are important but others are not? A question being asked is whether we made any significant advance during our chairmanship to restore credibility.
It is fair to say Ireland, the EU and the Council of Europe made prolonged efforts over a long period to deal with the human rights problems and the various difficulties which existed in Kosovo before any further action was taken. I recall attending several European Council meetings on behalf of the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Andrews, during the Northern talks when the issue of Kosovo was raised regularly. Significant efforts were made before any further action was taken.
Chechnya was different.
It is fair to say significant efforts were made in respect of Chechnya. Our chairmanship only started on 1 January. The former Minister took immediate action in going to Moscow and applying considerable pressure in respect of what was happening in Chechnya and that effort is ongoing.